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Roger Waters Drops Ominous New Version Of Pink Floyd Classic 'Comfortably Numb'

English musician, singer-songwriter, composer, and co-founder of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd, Roger Waters, performs at a sold-out show at ScotiaBank Arena in Toronto.
English musician, singer-songwriter, composer, and co-founder of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd, Roger Waters, performs at a sold-out show at ScotiaBank Arena in Toronto.

English musician, singer-songwriter, composer, and co-founder of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd, Roger Waters, performs at a sold-out show at ScotiaBank Arena in Toronto.

Roger Waters just released a haunting new take on “Comfortably Numb,” from Pink Floyd’s landmark 1979 album “The Wall.”

While the track is a staple of classic rock radio, fans might not recognize this new one right away.

“I pitched it a whole step down, in A minor, to make it darker and arranged it with no solos, except over the outro, where there is a heartrendingly beautiful vocal solo from one of our new sisters Shanay Johnson,” Waters wrote on YouTube, referring to one of the vocalists on his “This Is Not A Drill” tour.

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This take on “Comfortably Numb” has been the opening number throughout the tour, and the visuals appear on the video screens that start out on the stage, but rise above it as the song ends:

“It’s intended as a wakeup call,” Waters added. “And a bridge towards a kinder future with more talking to strangers, either in ‘The Bar’ or just ‘Passing in the Street’ and less slaughter ‘In Some Foreign Field.’”

“This Is Not A Drill” finished its North American leg last month, and resumes in spring in Europe.